Indian sports wrap, October 22: Diksha Dagar wins Hero Shot skills challenge

GOLF

Diksha Dagar wins Hero Shot skills challenge

Two-time Olympian Diksha Dagar won the Hero Shot skills challenge and pocketed $4,000 in a competition featuring eight players assembled for the $400,000 Hero Women’s Indian Open at the DLF Golf and Country Club on Tuesday.

In the final, two-time Ladies European Tour winner Diksha beat compatriot Tvesa Malik, in getting the ball closest to the pin from 110 yards on the 18th hole.

The two Indian players beat Spain’s Nuria Iturrioz and England’s Alice Hewson in the semifinals, after having emerged among the top four in the quarterfinals when the competition was from 80 yards.

The runner-up got $2,000, while the semifinalists ($1000) and quarterfinalists ($500) shared the rest of the prize from a total purse of $10,000.

The Executive Chairman of Hero MotoCorp, Dr. Pawan Munjal presented the prizes.

The president of Women’s Golf Association of India, Kavita Singh was pleased to see

another edition of the championship getting underway from Thursday, with 114 players from 30 countries.

The vice president of Hero MotoCorp, Sanjay Bhan reiterated the commitment of the organisation to help the event and the sport grow.

Chiara Tamburlini, the highest ranked player at No.66, from Switzerland, Alice Hewson of England, Mannon De Roey of Belgium apart from the three Indian women Diksha, Tvesa and Hitaashee Bakshi, expressed their excitement about competing on the challenging course that called for perfect tee-shots and the exquisite ability to tackle the fast greens.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

ATHLETICS

Cyclone Dana postpones Junior Athletics meet

With cyclone ‘Dana’ expected to hit Odisha on Wednesday, the 39th National junior athletics championships which were to begin in Bhubaneswar on October 25, have been postponed.

The new dates of the five-day meet will be announced soon.

-Stan Rayan

SWIMMING

Karnataka wins National Para-Swimming Championships team title

Karnataka secured the overall title with an impressive 392 points at the 24th National Para-Swimming Championships which concluded here on Tuesday.

Maharashtra finished second with 378 points, while Rajasthan took the third spot with 248 points.

The event witnessed participation of 518 swimmers from 28 states, with 360 men and 158 women competing across various categories. Remarkably, 231 of the participants were first-time competitors.

In the individual categories, Mohammed Aasim of Kerala emerged as the men’s senior champion, showcasing his exceptional skills in the pool. Ravi Karthik of Andhra Pradesh won the men’s junior title, while Revansh of Haryana triumphed in the men’s sub-junior category.

In the women’s division, Karnataka’s Sharanya clinched the women’s senior title. Maharashtra’s Saee Pujair won the women’s junior championship and Abha Ganesh took home the women’s sub-junior title.

-PTI

PICKLEBALL

PWR700 event to be held in Delhi from October 24

Around 750 amateur and pro players are set to compete in the India Masters, a PWR700 event, at the DLTA Complex here from October 24, the organisers announced on Tuesday.

It will be first tournament in India, fully owned and operated event by Pickleball World Rankings (PWR) following the successful launch of the PWR World Tour in July 2024 in Dubai, UAE.

The participants include top international players such as Dustin Boyer (United States), Phuc Huynh (United States), Roos Van Reek (Netherlands), Mitch Hargreaves (Australia), Emilia Schmidt (Australia), Pei Chuan Kao (Chinese Taipei), as well as leading Indian players like Armaan Bhatia and Aditya Ruhela.

They will compete for a prize pool of USD 50,000.

-PTI

BASKETBALL

Shumalaya guides Apex Public School to final of Hansraj Prabhakar Tournament

Shumalaya scored 19 points in guiding Apex Public School to a 36-34 victory over Bal Bharati School, Pitampura, in the under-17 girls final of the 35th Hansraj Prabhakar Basketball Tournament at the Oxford School courts, Vikaspuri, on Tuesday.

Shumalaya was adjudged the ‘best player’ in the girls section. Ishant Singh (under-18 boys), Naitik Dhaka (under-16 boys) and Arjun Lakra (under-14 boys) were the other players to be presented the ‘best player’ award.

Mohit Gulia won the open free throw competition, while Sarthak Thakur won the open three-pointer competition. The most promising player award was given to Raj Singh, while Anvay Malik emerged the ‘highest scorer’ with 104 points.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

HOCKEY

Manjeet and Arjun scored the goals to help Army Boys Sports Company, MEG Bangalore, to a 3-1 victory over Odisha Naval Tata Academy, Bhubaneswar, in a superleague match of the Kanwarji 52nd Nehru junior hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium on Tuesday.

Deepak Pradhan reduced the margin for the Bhubaneswar team.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

TENNIS

Mukund enters second round of Santaizi ATP Challenger

S. Mukund beat qualifier Thanapet Chanta of Thailand 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the first round of the Santaizi ATP Challenger tennis tournament in Taipei, Taiwan, on Tuesday.

-Kamesh Srinivasan